


Good Advice, Finally

by moretrash



Series: Dads of Marmora [22]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Advice, Keith getting good advice, Lotor is good, Protective Lance (Voltron), Protective Lotor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-17
Updated: 2018-04-17
Packaged: 2019-04-24 00:08:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14343846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moretrash/pseuds/moretrash
Summary: Keith finally gets good advice from another hybrid.





	Good Advice, Finally

**Author's Note:**

> Based off of a comment I got from TheEmberCity !:
> 
> "If you have time could you maybe write a fic staring Lotor being overprotective of Keith in front of Allura, Coran, the Paladins and the Blade? Also just overall adorable Keith."
> 
> This isn't really over-protective Lotor but Lotor is defensive idk.

Lotor’s days passed in relative silence. Each day flowed into the next, and if it weren’t for the routine appearance of the paladins, he was sure he would have no clue what day it was. 

He wasn’t angry, though. The cell-like room he was residing in was comfortable. He had a place to lay down and sleep and quite a bit of room to walk around and stretch his legs. All in all, he really couldn’t complain about the situation he was in. It wasn’t ideal, sure, but he was being treated nicely. The paladins made a point to avoid harming him.

Yes, all things considered, he was actually living quite well.

But he was lonely, he wouldn’t lie to himself. He used to have his generals to talk to. Their voices filled the air in the silence, and Lotor was sure their voices kept him from going insane in the months that he was on the run from the empire. Now, he had no voices to fill the deafening silence besides the paladins who would routinely interrogate him on possible empire targets. He longed for company, deep down.

-

Keith wouldn’t lie, he was not a fan of being the only hybrid Galra he regularly encountered. His pack helped him as much as they could, but there were gaps in their collective knowledge. They were all full Galra, and had very limited interaction with hybrids. They couldn’t help him with issues he had regarding being a hybrid. It helped, though, that they never tried to help. Not that they didn’t want to, but, as they had told Keith point blank, they weren’t going to give Keith advice on a subject they didn’t know anything about.

But a part of him was lonely. He wanted interactions with another hybrid. Someone who was older, perhaps, or who had grown up with the knowledge that they were hybrids. Someone who could answer his questions and give him advice. A mentor was the best term Keith could think of to describe the type of companionship he wanted.

So, when he was making a visit to the castle of lions, Keith made a point to go visit Lotor. A Galran-Altean hybrid was probably the closest he was going to get to a Human-Galran hybrid. Alteans were similar to humans in a lot of ways, after all.

-

Lotor glanced up boredly when he heard the door to the room beyond the see-through wall of his cell was opened. He was expecting a paladin for another interrogation session, but he quirked an eyebrow in surprise when he saw the former red paladin step in. It was a purposeful action because Keith looked confident, but Lotor knew he was nervous by the fact that he also looked a bit lost.

“Nervous, young Galra? I do not bite.” Lotor said playfully. Keith jumped when he was addressed and scowled.

“You’re half Altean, right?” Keith blurted out. He always found these things to be like ripping off a bandaid. He had to do it quickly. Lotor blinked, taken aback by the sidden statement.

“Yes, and quite proud of it. My mother was the greatest scientist on Altea-” Lotor was about to begin a tangent, but he cut off by Keith.

“Right, so you are half Altean, I get it. Listen, you and I both know that I’m not the fondest of you, to put it lightly. But I’m half human, half Galran, and I never have interactions with other hybrids and…” Keith trailed off. What had he wanted to say in the first place? Was it too straightforward to ask Lotor to take Keith under his wing? Was there a more subtle way to go about asking? Keith was knocked out his thoughts, though, by the sound of Lotor chuckling.

“Are you requesting that I help you, young Galra? To… what is it that I heard the yellow paladin say, ‘take you under my wing’?” Lotor asked. His voice was light, but he made an effort of keeping it inviting and warm, to entice Keith into further conversation and try and get an answer out of Keith.

Keith felt his face heat as he nodded mutely. He didn’t even know what he wanted out this arrangement should it come to pass.

“Well, young Galra, I can do my best but I am currently in a cell. What should I call you, by the way?” Lotor said. 

“Keith.” Keith mumbled, just loud enough for Lotor to make out. Internally, he was jumping for joy at the chance to get advice from another hybrid. He wasn’t sure how to express that outwardly without making a fool of himself, though, so he settled for bouncing just the smallest bit on his heel.

“Well, in that case, sit down, Keith. We can talk for a bit.” Lotor said. Keith sat down against the see through material and sighed.

“Is it normal to not be entirely in touch with your Galra heritage?” Keith asked softly, hesitantly. Lotor shrugged a bit as he surveyed Keith.

“Yes, quite normal. You didn’t grow up knowing you were Galra. You may never feel completely in touch with your Galra side, as a result. It will become easier to get used to as time goes on, though.” Lotor said. Keith smiled a bit and nodded.

“Is it normal to have issues eating certain types of meat? I only noticed it after gaining Galra features.” Keith said.

“Do you have fangs?” Lotor asked, confused. To answer him, Keith turned towards Lotor and opened his mouth just enough to give Lotor a clear view of his fangs. Lotor hummed as he examined them.

“Yes. You are a kit, so your fangs are not fully grown in the first place. But, because you’re also a hybrid, I doubt they’ll ever really grow to full size. Shredding your meat and other tough foods helps, in my experience.” Lotor said, pointing at his own fangs. “See? I’m an adult hybrid and my fangs aren’t grown in fully.” Keith could see that that fact was true. The fangs were longer and sharper than Keith’s, but nowhere near as sharp and lethal as Thace or Antok’s.

“Ohh. Is it normal to want a lot of privacy? Packs seemed so focused on staying with the pack.” Keith said. Lotor shrugged.

“Absolutely. Have you noticed that every Galra has a personal bedroom as well as a pack room? Its very normal to want privacy. Most of the time, your pack will give it to you, but do not be surprised if they regularly knock on the door to check on you.” Lotor said. “Do not be afraid to get right to the point with your pack and say you want some time alone if you need it. Chances are they’ll understand.” Lotor said. Keith smiled a bit and leaned his head against the glass, inhaling and exhaling as though he was finally relaxing. Lotor didn’t really blame him if that was the case. He could understand how stressful it could be to be a hybrid without another hybrid to guide you. 

Keith yawned a but and sighed. “Lotor?” he asked sleepily.

“Yes?”

“Are you sure you’re okay with this? I don’t want to force you into doing anything.” Keith said. Lotor frowned and tilted his head.

“Keith, I would have said no upfront if I did not want to help you.” Lotor explained. He wished he could reach through the glass and reassure Keith. Keith seemed so small and sensitive at that moment, he looked exactly like the kit he knew he was. 

“I know you wouldn’t, but sometimes, humans will do something because they feel obligated to because you asked. I just wanted to make sure it was the same for you.” Keith said. Lotor nodded a bit.

“I assure you, Keith, I am genuine in my attempts to help you. I understand that being a hybrid comes with things that full Galra simply can’t understand.” Lotor said. Keith smiled softly and nodded, glancing up when he heard Kolivan enter the room.

“There you are, my kit. Whatever are you doing in here?” Kolivan asked. It was a fair question, Keith had previously wanted to be as far as possible from Lotor. 

“I… uh…” Keith was suddenly hesitant to explain why he was there. He knew Kolivan would understand, but he was scared of accidentally offending him by not coming to him or another member of his pack for help. 

“If you don’t want to tell me, that’s fine. But it is time for dinner. Let Lotor out of the cell and meet everyone in the dining room.” Kolivan said, ruffling Keith’s hair and leaving the room. Keith sighed and unlocked the cell, letting Lotor slip out. It was only then that Keith realized how much taller Lotor was compared to him.

-

Dinner did not go well for Keith, not at all. He seemed to be the center of attention for a certain blue bytor. Slav seemed obsessed over the fact that Keith was tearing his meat and vegetables into to shreds. 

“If you keep shredding it, you will have a 86% chance of choking on your food! And if you choke, you will have a 36% chance of choking to death!” Slav said, trying to wrestle Keith for his plate. The fight didn’t last long, considering that Slav was essentially a tall space noodle with extremely short arms, and quickly gave Keith free reign over his plate. Keith tried his best to ignore Slav’s death-chance percentages with every shred Keith made in his meat.

“Slav, Keith won’t choke. But really, stop picking at your food, mullet. Eat some, you look too skinny.” Lance said. Ever since he and Keith had gotten together, Lance had taken it upon himself to make sure Keith ate, and generally took care of himself.

“I’m not picking at my food.” Keith said, picking up a previously shredded section on his fork and eating it just to make a point.

“Before that point you were. Come on, Keith, don’t act like my stubborn little cousins and pick at your food.” Lance said. Keith huffed a bit.

“I’m not. I’m doing something.” Keith said.

“Building a meat palace?” Lance guessed jokingly. Keith felt his ears lower out of sheepishness.Lance made an apologetic sound.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Keith. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.” Lance said. Keith tapped his head against Lance’s shoulder briefly to indicate that he was forgiven without talking with his mouth full.

“Do not make fun of him. This is a strategy to help him eat more comfortably.” Lotor said. Lance glanced up and narrowed his eyes at Lotor.

“How would you know?’ Lance said accusingly. Lotor smirked.

“Because I taught it to him. Look at his fangs. He’s still a kit, so they are not fully grown in yet. And personally, I doubt they ever will. Shredding his food makes it easier to chew.” Lotor said. Lance nodded a bit and patted Keith’s back.

“I will not have any of you teasing him for shredding his food again. He will do what is best for himself and his hybrid body.” Lotor said. His voice was smooth velvet, but the warning was clear: Keith was receiving advice from Lotor in his best interest, and any attempts to make it seem bad would not be taken well.

Lance sighed. At least Keith finally had someone to go to, to relate to. He glanced at Lotor, his eyes betraying just how grateful he was to Lotor for giving Keith someone to vent to about being a hybrid, for being someone who would actually understand.


End file.
